Breath Prayer: The Prayer of the Heart

Breath prayers have popped up all over my social media feed. You too may have seen invitations to inhale and exhale while praying. I recently posted on my personal blog an explanation of this method of praying with steps for creating your own personalized breath prayers. I’m sharing it with you in the hope that you will find breath prayers meaningful.

Breath prayers have been practiced in the church as early as the 3rd or 4th century. They are short two-phrase prayers said with the rhythm of our breathing. The most well-know of all breath prayers is the “Jesus Prayer”:

Inhale: Jesus, Son of God
Exhale: Have mercy on me (Mark 10:47)

Ruth Haley Barton says breath prayers are “an expression of our heart’s deepest yearning coupled with the name for God that is most meaningful and intimate for us at this time.”¹

You can adopt breath prayers that others have created or make your own.

• Prayerfully, choose your most meaningful name for God. Say this as you breathe in. 
• Then add a cry of your heart. Say this as you breathe out. 

For instance: 

Inhale: Immanuel
Exhale: You are with me (Matt 1:23)

or

Inhale: Holy One
Exhale: Show me the way (Ps 143:8)

or

Inhale: Mighty Warrior
Exhale: Save me (Zeph 3:17)

Another common technique uses phrases directly from scripture.

• Choose a short sentence in scripture that expresses your heart’s cry.
• Divide it into two parts.
• Breathe in as you say the first line and breathe out as you say the second line.

For instance:

Inhale: I won’t be afraid
Exhale: For you are with me (Is 41:10)

or

Inhale: Less of me
Exhale: More of you (John 3:30)

or

Inhale: The Lord is my shepherd
Exhale: I lack nothing (Ps 23:1)

Here’s my personal breath prayer based on Psalm 27:8:

Inhale: Your face Lord
Exhale: I will seek

Pray your breath prayer whenever you are waiting, anxious, or needing God’s presence or help. The brevity of it helps us to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess 5:17) and refocus our attention on God throughout the day. 

I’d love to hear some of your breath prayers.

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1. Ruth Haley Barton, Sacred Rhythms (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Books, 2006), 70.